They look at you, these women, as you unwrap what they've given because they know your actual reaction will be evident in your facial expression even as your mouth is forming the words "Oh! How wonderful!"

In this story, it's a real-life competition to defy death. Because the punishment of knocking off first will mark the culmination of a nearly four-decade-long practical joke -- quite possibly the longest ongoing joke in the history of prank-manship.

I unwrap the package and discover the youthful, bright blue, dangling earrings that more closely resemble something you'd put on the tree than a middle-aged mom's lobes. "Put them on, Mom," he practically begs.

I am like the mother who gave her son two ties for Christmas. He went to the hall mirror, put on one of them, and turned to show her how it looked, "What," she said disappointedly, "You didn't like the other one?"

Still, one may legitimately ask: "Is it ethical to give someone else a present I was given but don't need or want?" The answer may surprise you: Yes, it is right to regift. In fact, we have a duty to do so. Here's why.

Due to the "great recession" we have become increasingly more time crunched and more thoughtful about over-spending. It only makes sense that with these changes in our lives we have also seen a change in our philosophy toward re-gifting.

In this age of green giving, when many of us have accumulated way too much stuff, re-gifting seems to have become a bit more socially acceptable. Giving away things that we know we will never use -- and that someone else would like -- that's admirable, right?

For as long as people have been receiving gifts, some of those gifts have been regifted. The Magi brought the first Christmas gifts, and while everyone likes gold, I'm pretty certain the frankincense and myrrh were regifted.

There are few things in life that give me more pleasure than finding a new home for an item that's just taking up space in my house. So one of my kids gets a birthday present she already has? She may see disappointment, but I see opportunity.